The Story

Melinda Davies and Craig Johnson left careers unrelated to making booze when they decided their obsession for single malt whisky needed addressing. After a brief research stint at Lark Distillery, the husband-and-wife team eventually found their outlet in a former bank in the tiny village of Loch, 90 minutes south-east of Melbourne. After purchasing the building, they then set about converting it and soon after the Loch Brewery & Distillery emerged.

When you enter, you’re greeted by a gleaming alembic copper still from Portugal that’s been used to create Loch’s sought-after small-batch gins. But the main brewing and distilling operation sits next door in what was once the old butchery. In there, three English-style ales – a dark ale, a best bitter and an amber ale – are brewed and bottled for retail and wholesale and are also available on hand pump at the cellar door.

But the ales serve another purpose: they’re variously distilled (minus hops) to create three distinct single malt spirits. The initial distillation is carried out in a 1200 litre Knapp Lewer still from Hobart and the second in a 400 litre Portuguese alembic from Hoga Company. The first Loch single malt whiskies were released in 2018, sporting references to the specific ale they were distilled from so you can pair them with the Loch beer where it all started.

Nearly a dozen different batches have now been released, matured in ex-Bourbon, ex-apera, ex-tawny, even virgin Hungarian oak casks. Pop out back to the recently finished bond store behind the distillery and you find a variety of casks that will create some enthralling whiskies in coming years, including ex-beer and whisky cask finishes produced entirely in-house – the only distillery in Australia currently doing this.

The small community of Loch has certainly embraced the operation. It was always Melinda and Craig’s intention to grow with the town, rather than in spite of it, and they’ve seamlessly integrated a number of historic buildings and fruit trees that preserve the history of the property (fruit liqueurs are even made using produce from the trees). Rainwater supplies most of what’s required for the site, and solar will help to eventually take the whole operation off grid, and even supply back into it.

This is small-scale, small-town brewing and distilling at its very best. And while that scale means it can be difficult to track down Loch single malt whisky at the moment, when you do, drink it next to a Loch ale and you’ll be amply rewarded.